OMAHA — Tom Brands is still searching for a three-digit number.

By the end of the day on March 20, the Iowa wrestling team had nabbed three individual NCAA titles and amassed 134.5 points en route to the program’s 23rd national champion and third straight under the fourth-year Iowa head coach.

Ousting second-place Cornell by 44.5 points, the margin of victory ranks eighth in Hawkeye history and ninth in the tournament.

But Brands isn’t concerned with that.

The former Olympic gold-medal winner wants to redefine the standard, and he noted his squad fell 35.5 points shy of besting the NCAA record for most team points scored in the championships — a mark set at 170 by legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable and his squad in 1997.

And that has Brands seeking more.

“I work in the room that’s named after him,” he said. “I see him every day, so it’s good company to have. It’s good to be chasing your mentor, a guy that’s in your corner.”

Still, the Hawkeyes managed to accomplish at least one Gable-esque feat. Iowa crowned eight All-Americans for the first time in 13 years.

Only sophomore 157-pounder Jake Kerr and 197-pound senior Chad Beatty left the Qwest Center without an accolade. Kerr became the first Iowa grappler eliminated from the tournament after falling to Bloomsburg senior Matt Moley, 5-1, in his second consolation match on March 19.

Beatty, a No. 9 seed, ended his collegiate career on a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin junior Trevor Brandvold in the consolation quarterfinals.

But success eventually overshadowed the Hawkeyes’ hurt as smiles stretched the faces of Iowa wrestlers and coaches as they posed for photos on the raised championship stage positioned in the middle of the arena floor.

Matt McDonough became Iowa’s first-ever 125-pound champion and first freshman champion in 17 seasons.

Brent Metcalf redeemed last year’s NCAA finals loss and avenged his loss to Ohio State senior Lance Palmer two weeks ago at the Big Ten tournament to seize his second national championship.

And Jay Borschel sweetly topped an undefeated senior season with an emphatic 6-2 title triumph against Cornell junior Mack Lewnes, who hadn’t allowed a takedown until the 174-pound finale.

“Ten years from now, it’s going to look real good,” Borschel said about his championship run. “I mean, maybe not necessarily right now, but down the road, it’ll definitely look nice.”

Stringing together a trio of NCAA team titles and a 68-1 overall record will also be aesthetically pleasing in a decade — especially considering that Iowa finished eighth during Brands’ first season at the Hawkeye helm, in 2007.

Following Iowa’s 21st national championship in St. Louis, many were quick to proclaim the re-emergence of a dynasty.

“I tell you what, there has been something pretty special the past three years with what we’ve been able to put together,” Metcalf said. “You know, one loss to Oklahoma State. One loss. And we don’t feel good about it, but you look back, and you can feel pretty good about it.”

The Hawkeyes also feel good about the future after notching the fifth-best recruiting class in 2009, a group that included three top-25 prep standouts.

“We’re recruited well,” Brands said. “We have some firepower in the stable, too, that you don’t see. Not making predictions, but we have a lot of work to do.”